Pepper Container Gardening

Planting two different varieties of
peppers next to each other isn’t wise. They cross. This is why I went to pepper
container gardening.

My favorite peppers were the colored
bells. Unlike green peppers, they are not bitter. The different colors have
slightly different tastes. And they are pretty.

Then a friend talked me into trying
a Macedonian pepper. This is another sweet pepper (I don’t grow hot peppers.).
It is a long horn shape turning from green to lime green to yellow green to
rose red. It is delicious.

Two more Macedonian peppers have
joined my line up. I still grow the colored bells as I like them too. I needed
to have a place to grow the new pepper away from the garden where the bell
peppers grow. Containers were the answer.

There are several considerations for pepper container gardening.

Cattle protein tubs are often thick, sturdy plastic. They have to be as a full one is very heavy. They come in smooth, ringed and ridged designs along with several colors. They are around 2 feet deep and 2 1/2 feet across. This one is setting on two cement blocks and has five holes in the bottom.

Location

Peppers like very warm and sunny
places. Here in the Ozarks all day sun is not necessary, but half the day is
minimum.

Choosing the location is vital for
pepper container gardening as, once the containers are filled, moving them is
difficult.

As I have three varieties of peppers to consider, I need three locations separate enough to discourage cross pollination. In front of the house, on the sunny side of the house and behind the house work for me. All get shade part of the day, but sun most of the day during the summer.

Although I raided the gravel bars along the creek, gravel can be obtained from cement companies. I used one 5 gallon bucket of gravel in a tub which resulted in about four inches for drainage. Larger pieces covered the holes and need some gravel placed over the pieces before dumping the rest in so the covering pieces aren’t pushed aside.

Containers

Since I grow four plants in each
container, I need a big container. Bigger containers don’t heat up in the sun
as much preventing the roots from cooking.

My containers are the empty plastic
tubs sold filled with cow licks. My feed store buys them back empty from
cattlemen and resells them to gardeners like me. The owner also uses a line of
them to grow left over transplants for himself and customers who want a quick
snack as they go into the store.

Drilling five or six half inch holes
in the bottom provides drainage.

Setting
Up

Drainage is important. Putting a
couple of half size cement blocks or a few bricks under the container helps.

Next the pepper container needs
gravel. A larger piece goes over each hole. Four to six inches of inch size
gravel goes in on top. This will, in a few years, clog with dirt and need
replacing.

Soil comes next. I mix mine. My
mixture has one part creek sand, one part composted goat manure and two parts
dirt in it. The amounts are not exact. Part of the mix is removed and replaced
each year with more compost.

Leave three or four inches clear at the top to hold water in the container.

My soil mix included half a five gallon bucket of sand, two buckets of dirt and one bucket of compost. The dirt was lighter so I needed less sand. I poured in half a bucket of dirt, added a thin layer of sand, half a bucket of compost and mixed. Repeat, I did have more compost, but the container was full. The mixture can be adjusted. This tub is now ready to plant. I plan on four pepper plants. It would work for one tomato plant or lots of greens or ?

Adding
Pepper Plants

I space four plants around the
container three or four inches from the edge. It’s a good idea to have a stout
pole in the center to tie the plants to.

The Ozarks can be a windy place. I
have used circles of fence wire, but this needs anchoring too.

Growing
Considerations

Pepper container gardening is
different from garden based pepper growing. I do mulch my containers to help
control weeds, hold in moisture and keep the soil cooler. The containers need
watering every other if not every day.

With a little planning pepper
container gardening can yield enough peppers to spice up every meal and put
plenty in the freezer.